Google introduces new security measures

December 21, 2010

On Friday, Google Inc. announced in a blog post that they improving their efforts to warn users of potentially malicious or compromised links. Now, the search giant will display a warning reading “this site may be compromised” on its search-results pages, below the hyperlinks for those sites only if they are highly suspected of being hacked.

The warning link leads to a page that explains that Google believes a third party has taken control of the site and could be using it to try and steal personal user information, scam them or lead them to a computer-killing virus. Google currently displays a message relating to dangerous links that “this site might harm your computer,” a message that has appeared for several years to warn users of potential hacking attempts. Additionally, they will show more urgent warnings on a separate page if the user clinks on the link regardless.

According to web security firm, Dasient, The number of sites infected with malware doubled to 1.2 million in the third quarter of 2010. Furthermore, most of the sites that were hacked were legitimate websites.

Google insists that they will continue to help site owners recovers from hacks work quickly to remove the scary warnings, which can harm consumer trust. The hi-tech company attempts to contact sites to inform them that someone is attempting to hack into the site so they can make the necessary adjustments and also allows them to request a review that can accelerate removal of the warnings, or get them off a blacklist if they are spreading malware.

The issue of internet security has become more of a concern with the evolution of the web and social media. Facebook, Google’s rival, has also taken greater steps to help its users be more aware of potential hacking attemps by blocking potentially malicious links & torrents within their new messaging system.